At their second and final morning meeting of the summer, Brevard’s school board was set to move closer to a final approval of the 2025-2026 student code of conduct.
The code of conduct was initially supposed to be approved at a May 20 meeting. But it needed to be revised because of a new Florida law restricting the use of cell phones for students in elementary and middle school.
Since then, the district has shifted to rework the code of conduct ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. Following Tuesday’s board meeting, they were set to discuss a policy addressing the new state law on cell phones at a work session.
While the law only restricts cell phone usage for elementary and middle school students, Brevard was set to ban the use of phones for K-12 students during the school day, though the policy still has to be approved.
Ultimately, the code ended up being pulled from the agenda by Tuesday morning.
10:45 a.m.: Public comment concludes
Public comment concluded with discussions of a variety of topics.
Sarah Powers, a custodian at Satellite High, said she experienced discrimination at her job because of her age and not speaking English as her first language.
“Please follow up with me and help us to resolve these issues,” she said.
Carl Sandburg spoke in favor of banning cell phones and other technology.
“They need to get rid of social platform … because it’s a distraction,” he said. “It’s a total distraction … There’s no way a third or fourth grader needs a $1,200 iPhone and a watch.”
Marcus Hochman brought up issues with student attendance.
“I think our district … we take too much of the responsibility and it should relate back onto the parents,” he said, adding that the district is limited in what they can do regarding attendance because of state statute and that he would request they discuss it with Florida School Boards Association.
10:30 a.m.: Public addresses concerns about code of conduct
Kelly Colomberti spoke again, bringing up concerns about the current proposed student conduct, specifically a rule related to students’ ability to record the environment around them.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little bit skeptical of the vague phrasing of the updates to the student of code, the student code, and basically everything else that this board does,” she said.
Board Chair Gene Trent stopped her, saying the board was “taking notes so we can respond.”
“Speak and we’ll take (notes),” he said.
Max Madl, a Brevard Public Schools graduate who ran for school board in 2024, spoke about concerns regarding the proposed restrictions on cell phone use in the updated student code of conduct, bringing up that students may need their phones in situations like a shooting.
“Students having access to their phones can literally save lives,” he said. “We saw this in tragedies like Parkland, where students used their phones to contact loved ones and access real-time information. Removing this option strips parents and families of a layer of connection and reassurance during uncertain moments.”
10:20 a.m.: Non-agenda public comment kicks off
The non-agenda public comment section kicked off just before 10:20 a.m., with Bernard Bryan from the South Brevard NAACP speaking first. He discussed Brevard Public Schools’ voluntary pre-kindergarten program and how the participation rate of marginalized populations should be higher.
“No child should not have the opportunities to go to Brevard Public Schools,” he said. “Please consider adding an action step to increase the participation rate of children in the marginalized community attending VPK, and that will drive some synergy.”
Stephanie Sherby discussed a retired Army colonel, discussed scholarship opportunities through the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Vanessa Skipper, the vice president of Brevard Federation of Teachers, raised concerns about the current proposed contract for members.
“We’re just asking meet us in the middle so a teacher can actually go to the endocrinologist instead of choosing to pay their water bill instead,” she said.
10:10 a.m.: Board moves swiftly through remainder of agenda
The board moved through the remainder of the agenda quickly, with some discussion related to the Titusville High School baseball and softball fields construction management services.
Superintendent Mark Rendell spoke of attending the funeral of Richard “Dick” Blake, Brevard’s first post-desegregation Black principal at Cocoa High.
“He was one of those legends, a living legend,” Rendell said. “He was the head Tiger. … We probably can’t measure the impact that he had on so many lives as he led that school and contributed to our community.”
10 a.m.: Two people speak on agenda-related public comment
Only two people spoke during the agenda-related public comment portion. The first speaker spoke against the board’s proposed invocation policy, saying it could add “unnecessary pressures” on students to conform.
“Public schools exist to serve all students and all families, be they Christians, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, spiritual or nothing at all,” he said. “As soon as we start opening these meetings with an invocation, no matter how subtle, we promote the idea that faith is tantamount to belonging, participation and achievement.”
The second speaker, Kelly Colomberti, spoke about Melissa Calhoun, a Satellite High teacher whose contract was not renewed after she used a high school senior’s chosen name without parental permission.
“I’m just not going to let it go that you effectively fired one of the strongest teachers in this county and brought, I mean, basically international shame on this area,” she said. “There are neighboring counties that are poaching our teachers right now because you have such insane rules …”
9:50 a.m.: FSBA representative discussion
The board discussed which members to appoint as a committee representative and alternate to the Florida School Boards Association Board of Directors and Advocacy Committee. They opted to have Matt Susin continue as the representative with Katye Campbell as the alternate.
9:40 a.m.: employee reclassification, appointment
The board accepted the reclassification/transfer of multiple employees, including Cleveland Reid, Joseph Flora, Candace Harlan and Roseann Bennett. They also appointed Wendy Honeycutt to the position of principal at Croton Elementary School effective July 1.
9:30 a.m.: Meeting kicks off
The meeting began at 9:30 a.m. with a relatively small crowd. All board members were participating in the meeting, though Katye Campbell was attending virtually.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker. Instagram: @finchwalker_.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Recap: Small group addresses variety of concerns at Brevard Schools meeting
Reporting by Finch Walker, Florida Today / Florida Today
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